Local author introduces new genre

Most authors would get their feelings hurt if their own parents told them they couldn’t finish reading their breakthrough published novel. But Connor Rice isn’t most authors, and he doesn’t mind at all that his dad couldn’t get past Chapter 13.

“I really did try, it was just too violent – it’s not my favorite genre at all,” said Phil Rice. “In fact, when I started reading it, I got on the phone and called him to question his soul. He explained that the characters take on lives of their own, it wasn’t him. That’s something I had to grasp. He is talented, though. I’m really proud.”

It’s important to note that his son’s new book is in the “splatter western” genre and has a disclaimer on the cover that states “contains extreme violence.” Think Quentin Tarantino or The Walking Dead.

“I was a little perplexed, because I thought, we did not raise him like that, and why does he have to say those words?” said mom Donna Rice. “He just said ‘Mom this is not me talking. These are the characters talking and I have all these stories in my mind like a filing system.’ Whenever he gets a new idea he just files it into there to write later.”

Writing wasn’t Connor’s first love, although he started writing as early as Kindergarten. When he entered Southern Nazarene University, he hoped to join the Federal Bureau of Investigation. But then he was told to learn a foreign language.

“They told him they recommended Arabic, but he didn’t want to go to the Middle East,” said Donna. “So he asked about German. They told him to immerse himself in the culture and study abroad, so his junior year of college was spent at the University of Vienna in Austria.”

“Vienna is a beautiful city for artists,” said Connor. “They have cafés on every street corner just like we have Starbucks here.”

While in Vienna he took a class about genre writing, and the professor was impressed enough to suggest he pursue it when he returned to the states. That prompted a Skype call to Mom and Dad.

“He Skyped us from there and said he was changing his major. He said this is what I want to do. We told him this was a good hobby, but you’re going to have to get a real job,” said Donna. “He had this passion - he said ‘it’s something I have to do to breathe; It’s what gives me life.’ It took us a while to realize this was not just a flash in the pan. We just said we will support whatever you do. Then along came Emily and she fueled his passion, as well.“

Emily, a microbiologist, has been Connor’s wife and editor since 2018. “I’m a writer appreciater,” she said. “I leave snarky comments and we laugh about it.”

The author, who works for a communications company in Oklahoma City, gave himself the pen name of “Wile E. Young” and started writing. He tried science fiction, then switched to horror.

“My first novel is called “The University” – a young adult novel. It will never come out. At the time I thought it was genius,” he recalled. “The monsters talked in different fonts. No one will publish it. That was before I took any writing classes.”

The 2009 Atlanta High School graduate didn’t realize he had a real talent until his senior year of college in 2013. “I had two short stories published almost back to back. The first, Breaker 1-9, published under my real name, was published in an anthology – no payment but at least it was published,” he said. “The second one, I was paid $40 for, called And The River Rolls - it was good. For the next five years there was nothing but rejection.” Some writers suffer through years of rejections before getting noticed. One who knows this well was author Jack Ketchum, a wellknown horror fiction writer that has had many books turned into movies.

“Right before my debut novel came out I had dinner with Jack Ketchum. He was one of my mentors starting out. I told him that I just didn’t think I could do this. He gave me a warm smile and said ‘you cut your teeth on rejections, now eat your lamb chop’,” Connor said. “I was really, really sad when he passed the next year, before my first book came out. He never got to read it.”

It’s well known in East Texas that Cass County somehow breeds success, and Connor can now be counted among many others that have gone forth into the world to do well. He has taken a lot of his hometown experiences with him.

“It’s real easy to write about small towns. Catfish in the Cradle (his first novel) took place in a small town. Growing up here you know how people act, how they talk. Whoever said to ‘write what you know’ was incredibly right,” said Connor. “I spent a lot of time on Caddo Lake in our family lake house, so I came up with a lot of stories there that influenced that first book. But I try to keep my writing and family separate.”

Catfish in the Cradle is listed in the “Mythology and Folk Lore” genre on Amazon. It’s this second book that makes his family glad he separates family from writing.

“Magpie coffin is the first in new genre of horror called Splatter Western which is based on the splatter punk movement, really violent and gory - apply those same principals to a western,” Connor explained. “It turned out really well and I’m working on the sequel. Salem is the lead character, and his story, in my mind, will take about five novels to do. It has a definitive beginning, middle and end, but we’ll see how it goes.”

He said he based the character of Salem on a mix of a few different western archetypes. “I did a lot of research; Clint Eastwood in Man with No Name; Ed Harris as The Man In Black from Westworld,” Connor said. “He has this odd sort of code and morality that aren’t really conventional. He’ll kill somebody for reasons that make sense to only him, versus something that would make sense to everyone else. He operates on a skewed morality that makes him a villain, while going after people that are decidedly worse. At the end of the day there are no illusions or justifications – he IS a bad guy.”

The horror genre is one of the largest, and conventions are held year-round in most of the bigger U.S. cities. Connor has gained a good fan base traveling to “Horrorcons” throughout the country.

“Scares That Care, a charity-based convention in West Virginia, is the biggest one I do. The profits go to children with severe medical needs,” he explained. “Then there is KillerCon, which is like the SplatterCon convention and StokerCon, where they give out the big Bram Stoker writing awards. That one is for more literary works, so I haven’t gotten there yet. I’ve met all kinds of people.”

But his most ardent fans reside right here in Atlanta, Texas, and on November 7 most of them were packed into Camelot Manor Antiques on East Main for his book signing. Grandfather Arlie Kyzer, an Atlanta city councilman said “Hes a dandy. I haven’t yet read it but his Grandma has.”

“I enjoyed both of his books. It’s different, but it’s good. When he was in high school we talked about it and he wanted to be a published writer even then. We agreed on that way back there,” said proud Grandma Curley Kyzer.”

“That professor in Vienna - just that little deposit into his life changed the trajectory,” Donna said. “I’m an educator and I believe the words we speak into our students can take root. They can ignite a person. He refused to give up on his passion.”

All of Connor’s works are available at Camelot Manor, or on Amazon – just search for Wile E. Young. Magpie Coffin started out on Amazons bestseller list when it came out in March; The Kindle edition currently sits at #18 on the Western Horror Fiction list.

“My Facebook just exploded,” he said. “It’s definitely opened up a new door.“